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Update: There's no shortage of new games this 2018 holiday season, but we wanted to bring a surprise gem to your attention: 2014's Sunset Overdrive, a high-octane, parkour-driven visual stunner. With seemingly zero fanfare, a $20 PC version arrived yesterday for Windows PCs (Steam, Windows Store). Nearly everything about the original games still applies to this PC version, so enjoy our original review (which first ran on October 29, 2014) below. The piece appears largely unchanged, but we have added some PC-specific thoughts (finally, Sunset in 60fps!) and a gallery from the new edition near the end.

Game Details

Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving. If I stay still, the monsters attack. If I stop sliding down rails, bouncing off of car hoods, or rappelling over zip lines, everything falls apart—the music in my head stops playing; the electricity stops surging through my dodge-rolls; the fire stops spewing from my duct-taped battle-axe.

Welcome to Sunset City, a sunny, dilapidated corpse of a not-so-futuristic riverside metropolis. The place used to be overrun by selfie-snapping hipsters until they chugged a brand-new energy drink that turned them into crazed mutants (we mean literally, as opposed to the figurative craze of a caffeine high). Somehow, "you" (by way of a relatively robust character creator, which happens to sport the dumbest hairstyles known to man) avoided taking a sip, and now you must survive and escape the madness alongside the few remaining human survivors.

Unlike everyone else, of course, you come prepared. When you find high-powered weapons, like a freeze ray or a bowling-ball launcher, you're able to shoot everything in sight with remarkable aim. When you see a building edge, a zip line, or other grindable and bounceable objects, you become a lightning-fast, super-powered parkour master.

Conveniently for you, Sunset City seems to be made up almost entirely of goofy weapons and rideable surfaces, and they connect you to a relatively simple—and certainly familiar—style of Crackdown-esque open-world video game, broken up into quests. Go here, blow up monsters, go there, find hidden item, blow more stuff up, collect reward, wash, rinse, repeat.

Sunset Overdrive has a lot of surface-level insanity in its favor, from its bright, day-glo punk aesthetic to its vulgar, meta-obsessed dialogue; from its hulking, mutated beasts to the visually arresting weapons used to dismember said beasts. The game wants very badly to whack you over the head with its style, as well, yet developer Insomniac Games doesn't falter or fumble due to that stylistic obsession.

Here's the weird thing: the f-bombs and reddit references eventually turn into white noise, and you may yawn when a Popper explodes in a Nickelodeon-orange gush of ooze for the 1,000th time—or when the game knowingly mocks yet another one of its formulaic fetch quests. But Sunset Overdrive's sense of urgency, fueled by a need for perpetual motion, never wanes. This is the extreeeeme open-world video game that puts its money where its wide-open mouth is.

Y'all got your tickets? You know, to the GUN SHOW?

As you can imagine, Sunset Overdrive's structure doesn't emphasize puzzles or other cerebral platforming, but it's also not as much of a "combat" game as you might expect from Insomniac Games, the developers best known for the every-weapon-is-crazy Ratchet and Clank series. Guns certainly play a big, explosive role, but they actually feel surprisingly formulaic; just because the grenade launcher shoots teddy bears doesn't mean it's not just another grenade launcher, and most of the other weapons offer visual gimmicks atop a gun you've seen before. Instead, the game's real victory is in traversal—in enabling it and in patting players on the back for doing it correctly.

Your "amps," a series of unlockable, upgradable superpowers, only work if you maintain a chain of grinds, bounces, wall-runs, kills, and other maneuvers. The longer the chain, the more amps power on simultaneously. You need these amps for the game's battles, but you also need to keep moving to survive. The massive numbers of foes you face also happen to come with acid blasts, machine guns, and other firepower that will run your health bar into the ground if you walk-and-shoot like in other games. If you're not riding the rails, you'll very quickly ride the pine.

Sunset Overdrive demands a lot of movement from its players—and a lot of camera and perspective shifting to keep up—so its guns have been tuned to compensate. For the most part, getting good at combat is less about twitchy aiming and more about controlling large crowds beneath your grind-and-hop path, thanks to a mix of auto-aiming machine guns and large, area-of-effect blasters. Lay down an acid-spitting trap; pick off an impending swarm with a ricochet-loaded gun that, uh, shoots vinyl records; stop a trio of snipers with an ice grenade (and then shatter them with a melee smash).

To encourage players to spice up their parkouring and their blasting, Sunset Overdrive also doles out badges for pretty much every action you do. Grind a rail? Badge! Wall-run to bunny hop to grenade throw? That's progress on three badges right there, getting you that much closer to new weapons, armor, and maneuverability upgrades. In that sense, Sunset Overdrive feels a little more like Tony Hawk than Jet Set Radio, at least in terms of demanding players get the most out of their move variety.

The city also hides roughly 9,420,768 collectibles (give or take), which can be cashed in for more upgrades. What's important here is, even more so than Crackdown before it, Sunset Overdrive's traversal for such collectibles is reinforced with a mix of enjoyable, controllable speed and constant, reaffirming rewards.

So far, we're not seeing anything in the way of noticeable visual issues in the PC version while testing on a backup gaming PC (GTX 1060, i7-7700HQ).

We've only been able to play single-player on PC, however, because the XB1 version's multiplayer content has been scrubbed from PC. A bummer, but we barely touched multi on Xbox, anyway.

Sunset Overdrive in 60fps: yes, finally.

These are not my system's listed resolutions. Methinks you're out of luck if you're expecting anything in the way of, say, widescreen support. But 4K is appreciated as an option.

You only get two anti-aliasing options, and they're both SMAA. Shame that the porting team here couldn't at least offer the more affordable TXAA as a built-in option.

Default control bindings, if you go for keyboard-and-mouse. We suggest moving that F-key "grind/roll" to Shift or Ctrl.

More default keyboard bindings. Another suggestion: put that melee command on a mouse-wheel click.

A little too irreverent

The plot-driven campaign has a lot going for it—a slow reveal of the game's beautiful environs, a ton of nicely designed, rail-loaded battlegrounds to glide over, a mess of crass, goofy dialogue powered by a surprisingly capable cast of voice actors—but it's not all that challenging. Auto-aiming assists fuel a lot of the combat, and even if you stand around like an idiot and die, coming back to life doesn't set back your progress all that much.

Instead, the campaign feels more like a training mode for the optional ranked challenges that players can take on to unlock giant cash bonuses and unique outfits. Some of them set you up in a tower-defense situation, where you lay traps and manage waves of foes (which has been duplicated in multiplayer). Others ask you to whip around a quick stretch of road as quickly as possible or battle enemies with specific point-bonus requirements.

All of these require a lot more concentration than the campaign—more planning for the fastest parkour routes, smarter bouncing between weapons, better strategy for how to maximize kill points—and get pretty demanding for players who want to achieve highest marks. The developers have struck a good balance between a playable, fun campaign that lets players relax a bit and a smattering of brutal, well-composed challenges.

Unfortunately, while the co-operative multiplayer modes essentially crib from the ranked challenge structure, the challenge hasn't been scaled to match the new number of players. Six players can carpet-bomb each challenge with area-of-effect attacks that seem to be designed for only two players, and they end as quickly as they begin.

In better news, Sunset Overdrive is the visual stunner that Xbox One has been needing for so long (snoozer Ryse notwithstanding). This game is a cereal box of color and wild designs, with wide draw distances, impressive facial animations, swarms of boil-covered mutants, humorous explosion effects, and smooth frame rates to boost the game's sense of speed.

Just as important is how the game handles plot—namely, that it creates a sense of place without demanding the player necessarily invest in things like characters or gags. Jokes and snide comments come and go too rapidly for players to ever feel like the writers care all too seriously about any of them, making it far easier to digest than a humor-loaded game that takes its own humor too seriously.

My main beef with the humor came with the game's repeated need to break the fourth wall. This was fine to a point, but when the main character keeps mocking the game's relatively boring quest structure, it begins to feel like picking a particularly annoying scab.

Even those formulaic fetch quests are forgivable, because Insomniac spit-shined the maneuvers and always-grinding combat—the core loop of the gameplay—as opposed to trying to reinvent the open-world wheel. Sunset Overdrive is a big, dumb, fast shooter that knows its place in the big, dumb gaming pantheon and, quite frankly, revels in it.

The Good

Parkour system combines speed, power-ups, and rewards to anchor the game's satisfying core.

Combat fits into always-moving system without making aiming or navigation a pain during the game's memorable, explosive firefights.

Between hulking beasts, killer robots, and a beautiful, ultra-bright city, this game is Xbox One's top beaut.

Surprisingly funny plot knows its place in this high-octane game—and enjoys a stellar voice cast.

The Bad

Campaign mode can feel like it's running on autopilot.

Weapons may look cool or funny, but you've seen 'em before.

Multiplayer modes haven't been scaled for difficulty with five-or-more players.

The Ugly

Mocking your game's biggest issues via jokes doesn't fix them.

Verdict: Xbox One owners in need of an action-parkour fix should buy, buy, buy.

When I saw the first Ratchet and Clank on the PS3 I knew the new gen of consoles had arrived. It looked like a (slightly older) Pixar movie. The biggest problem always was the gameplay. It wasn't bad but often too random. Pick the huge gun and let everything explode in a cornucopia of effects. This is fun for a bit but got tedious after a bit. This looks like Ratchet in a new skin. Which doesn't have to be a terrible thing.

I wondered how they were going to make aiming possible with constant fast-paced motion, and it sounds like the solution is to minimize the importance of aiming. Of course, I am comically terrible at shooters- I occasionally play one I get through PS+, and it takes me like 3 seconds to line up shot - so most folks surely wouldn't struggle as much as I would with aiming while in motion.

At any rate, I like the idea of gun-based combat games where the actual aiming is not the challenge, since I find those unplayable. Of course, many games have option for auto-aiming, but usually nothing to compensate for the lack of challenge, which leaves it being rather dull. It sounds like Sunset Overdrive has found a reasonable solution to that.

Superficially, SO also sounds like inFAMOUS. I wonder if that's why Sony didn't push more to get the game, considering the relationship they have with the studio (and Sony seems more interested in long-term relationships with smaller studios that MS). Trying to market both games within a few months of each other might have left a lot of people feeling Sony was repeating itself. I think SO can have more space to shine on Xbox.

I wondered how they were going to make aiming possible with constant fast-paced motion, and it sounds like the solution is to minimize the importance of aiming. Of course, I am comically terrible at shooters- I occasionally play one I get through PS+, and it takes me like 3 seconds to line up shot - so most folks surely wouldn't struggle as much as I would with aiming while in motion.

At any rate, I like the idea of gun-based combat games where the actual aiming is not the challenge, since I find those unplayable. Of course, many games have option for auto-aiming, but usually nothing to compensate for the lack of challenge, which leaves it being rather dull. It sounds like Sunset Overdrive has found a reasonable solution to that.

Superficially, SO also sounds like inFAMOUS. I wonder if that's why Sony didn't push more to get the game, considering the relationship they have with the studio (and Sony seems more interested in long-term relationships with smaller studios that MS). Trying to market both games within a few months of each other might have left a lot of people feeling Sony was repeating itself. I think SO can have more space to shine on Xbox.

I'd have to agree with you this looks like a very colorful play on inFAMOUS as well. Since it happens that I Love inFAMOUS I am tempted to get a XBONE just for this game (oh and my GF would love having the XBONE )

I don't have an XBox, so I sadly won't be playing this, but I'm really happy to see Insomniac playing to their strengths after seemingly wandering in the wilderness for an entire console generation. I have very, very fond memory of the Ratchet & Clank games, and I'm glad to see the clear heritage leading to this.

When I saw the first Ratchet and Clank on the PS3 I knew the new gen of consoles had arrived. It looked like a (slightly older) Pixar movie. The biggest problem always was the gameplay. It wasn't bad but often too random. Pick the huge gun and let everything explode in a cornucopia of effects. This is fun for a bit but got tedious after a bit. This looks like Ratchet in a new skin. Which doesn't have to be a terrible thing.

I liked the R&C games, for the most part. I guess I like Insomniac's brand of humor, as I usually chucked at the cheesy/witty jokes and pop culture references. I also liked their concept of guns upgrading over time to keep them fresh. I'm not sure if they pioneered the concept, but I prefer that over the constant swapping for higher gun classes that many games employ now, which can often result in decision fatigue.

As for Sunset Overdrive, what is the gore level on it? Some games are big on blood and guts and F-bombs, while other shooters tone that stuff down (Destiny/Halo style games).

Superficially, SO also sounds like inFAMOUS. I wonder if that's why Sony didn't push more to get the game, considering the relationship they have with the studio (and Sony seems more interested in long-term relationships with smaller studios that MS). Trying to market both games within a few months of each other might have left a lot of people feeling Sony was repeating itself. I think SO can have more space to shine on Xbox.

"Infamous: Second Son" is a great showcase for the PS4. Super fun. But also a brief adventure for an open world game (thought that's more of a value issue).

Sam Machkovech, can you tell us how long it took to finish the single player story? I remember a review on Ars for "Destiny" where the reviewer said he finished the campaign in 8 hours. How does "Sunsent Overdrive" compare?

Upstream a few people compared it to Infamous; it doesn't feel like Infamous at all to me.

My issue is the need for constant grinding/bouncing/jumping. You need to generate 'style' to use your Amp attacks and if you stop moving (or just run) that style starts draining away. It's not a bad mechanic, just bad for me.

If, like me, you're kind of OCD and methodical in your gaming (I tend to work through shooters pretty slowly) this game will drive you bonkers. It's SO frenetic.

Also so far I'm sort of disappointed that the 'mutants' are essentially the zombies we've seen in a bunch of games. The grunts, the pukers, the exploders... yeah they're colorful here but still feel really familiar.

Not to say it's a bad game... just be aware. If you enjoyed Tony Hawk games, or any kind of games where you have to pull off free-style tricks to build a multiplier to score big... combine that kind of game play with some fairly loose shooting and that's what Sunset Overdrive is. Plenty of folks are going to find it awesome.

When I saw the first Ratchet and Clank on the PS3 I knew the new gen of consoles had arrived. It looked like a (slightly older) Pixar movie. The biggest problem always was the gameplay. It wasn't bad but often too random. Pick the huge gun and let everything explode in a cornucopia of effects. This is fun for a bit but got tedious after a bit. This looks like Ratchet in a new skin. Which doesn't have to be a terrible thing.

I liked the R&C games, for the most part. I guess I like Insomniac's brand of humor, as I usually chucked at the cheesy/witty jokes and pop culture references. I also liked their concept of guns upgrading over time to keep them fresh. I'm not sure if they pioneered the concept, but I prefer that over the constant swapping for higher gun classes that many games employ now, which can often result in decision fatigue.

As for Sunset Overdrive, what is the gore level on it? Some games are big on blood and guts and F-bombs, while other shooters tone that stuff down (Destiny/Halo style games).

Most of the games heavy on the blood n' guts have settings that allow you to tone that stuff down. (or up, if you are a fan of movies like Tokyo Gore Police like me ;-) )

This game looks....less interesting then the Saint's Row, Jet Set Radio and Tony Hawk universes combined that it appears to try and rip off.

I haven't done MP yet, but the campaign is pretty standard fare. The humor is like SNL, once in a while they belt out something you'll find actually funny but the rest you find dull. That's fine by me - most games try to hit you over the head with every single line like it's a bad 80's sitcom with canned laughter.

The controls gel after a while (I won't deny a learning curve, and I can't imagine how daunting it would be if you hadn't played an early tony hawk or jet set radio), and what looks like pure chaos is, as you;re playing, completely manageable. This is from the ease of getting a grind or other action going - VERY forgiving in accuracy. The circle that always shows where you are in relation to the ground. Being able to slow down and speed up grinds. Flexibility in movement (wall running, bouncing, jumping, grinding, trapeze?).

Also, the game just looks fantastic, and they did a great job in making sure you can see where you are going. I don't think the design in this can be overstated. Strong visual cues, bright, with lots of contrast.

Campaign is probably around 10 hours, longer when you add in the equally good side missions. There is vulgarity, but its not crass like saints row, they fit it in very naturally (and the voice acting is such a breath of fresh air after hearing dinklebot the last month).

But the movement, it takes a bit to settle into, once you do it's incredible. The fluidity of choosing your own path, sense of speed. I love it. While people often try comparing it to other games, it's not really possible. SO carved out a solid niche in between everything there.

Its a game that wants you to have fun. And it works. See ya in the city, and good luck catching my traversal challenge scores

When I saw the first Ratchet and Clank on the PS3 I knew the new gen of consoles had arrived. It looked like a (slightly older) Pixar movie. The biggest problem always was the gameplay. It wasn't bad but often too random. Pick the huge gun and let everything explode in a cornucopia of effects. This is fun for a bit but got tedious after a bit. This looks like Ratchet in a new skin. Which doesn't have to be a terrible thing.

Recipe for Sunset Overdrive:

Combine in a mixing computer:

One part Jet Grind Radio

One part Rachet & Clank

A dash of Dead Rising

And a pinch of Tony Hawk Pro Skater

Stir vigorously until blended smooth

Become Insomniac's best game since the original R&C days.

I've only played about two hours and things were starting to click with me last night. I look forward to more high-skating hijinks around Sunset City tonight.

Edit: I particularly love the fact that they haven't put any restrictions on how you can create your character. Allowing me to make this:

Sam Machkovech, can you tell us how long it took to finish the single player story? I remember a review on Ars for "Destiny" where the reviewer said he finished the campaign in 8 hours. How does "Sunsent Overdrive" compare?

To be fair to Destiny though, the campaign is more like the prologue than the main event. To it's merit gameplay wise, & it's discredit narrative wise.

It's funny, I agree with most of the complaints about the game, but still haven't really played anything else much since it released. They've got the reward payouts really well tuned, I guess, as I'm usually a crank through it, then on to the next game type of player.

My take on the weapons is sort of don't fix what wasn't broken. Saint's Row got too weird with some of their special weapons. They were funny, but some of them didn't really blend into smooth game play, and I would wind up back with my trusty explosive pistols. Same thing happened in the last Ratchet & Clank- loved it, but I wished at times to give up one of the new funny weapons for something from one of the previous games.

Quote:

until they chugged a brand-new energy drink that turned them into crazed mutants (we mean literally, as opposed to the figurative craze of a caffeine high).

Sam Machkovech, can you tell us how long it took to finish the single player story? I remember a review on Ars for "Destiny" where the reviewer said he finished the campaign in 8 hours. How does "Sunsent Overdrive" compare?

"The reviewer" was me! =P As I said in this SO review, 8-10 hours; to be more specific, that's a little over two hours in each of the game's four "zones," and that's without factoring in the optional challenges and multiplayer modes.

Comparing SO to Destiny is kinda interesting, especially since I've grown to loathe Destiny's repetition and soulless grinding. While both SO and Destiny see you essentially doing the same things over and over via relatively formulaic missions, SO's quest feels a lot longer than Destiny because it's packed with decent writing/dialogue/acting most of the way through. (Also, while Destiny has speeder bikes, SO has blimps, if that affects your purchasing dollar.)

I wondered how they were going to make aiming possible with constant fast-paced motion, and it sounds like the solution is to minimize the importance of aiming. Of course, I am comically terrible at shooters- I occasionally play one I get through PS+, and it takes me like 3 seconds to line up shot - so most folks surely wouldn't struggle as much as I would with aiming while in motion.

At any rate, I like the idea of gun-based combat games where the actual aiming is not the challenge, since I find those unplayable. Of course, many games have option for auto-aiming, but usually nothing to compensate for the lack of challenge, which leaves it being rather dull. It sounds like Sunset Overdrive has found a reasonable solution to that.

Superficially, SO also sounds like inFAMOUS. I wonder if that's why Sony didn't push more to get the game, considering the relationship they have with the studio (and Sony seems more interested in long-term relationships with smaller studios that MS). Trying to market both games within a few months of each other might have left a lot of people feeling Sony was repeating itself. I think SO can have more space to shine on Xbox.

I'd have to agree with you this looks like a very colorful play on inFAMOUS as well. Since it happens that I Love inFAMOUS I am tempted to get a XBONE just for this game (oh and my GF would love having the XBONE )

The plot-driven campaign has a lot going for it—but it's not all that challenging... Instead, the campaign feels more like a training mode for the optional ranked challenges that players can take on to unlock giant cash bonuses and unique outfits.

This sounds a whole lot like Ratchet and Clank. Sounds like Insomniac made the same game with parkour thrown in and a new coat of paint.

The plot-driven campaign has a lot going for it—but it's not all that challenging... Instead, the campaign feels more like a training mode for the optional ranked challenges that players can take on to unlock giant cash bonuses and unique outfits.

This sounds a whole lot like Ratchet and Clank. Sounds like Insomniac made the same game with parkour thrown in and a new coat of paint.

Which is a great thing for me, but understand that not everybody will feel the same, though.

I will get this game, i do like a lot all of their previous titles, even fuse. Really love this developer, therefore this is a no brainer for me.

It's the only thing tempting me to by a One. But I'll wait & see if it gets the Allan Wake treatment(PC version down the road.) I'd rather upgrade my GPU for the requirements that are suddenly being needed for this year's games first(been able to run most games at 1080p with decent quality with my GTX 660 until now. But I don't even meet the minimums for AC: Unity.)

Been kinda on the fence about this since I first heard about it. Definitely sounds like I'll have to grab it now. Also I think it's going to be one of the bundles with the $349 Xbone during the holiday, if that interests anyone.

I will get this game, i do like a lot all of their previous titles, even fuse. Really love this developer, therefore this is a no brainer for me.

It's the only thing tempting me to by a One. But I'll wait & see if it gets the Allan Wake treatment(PC version down the road.) I'd rather upgrade my GPU for the requirements that are suddenly being needed for this year's games first(been able to run most games at 1080p with decent quality with my GTX 660 until now. But I don't even meet the minimums for AC: Unity.)

Ignore the minimums, they're so overblown. One of my older gaming rigs that I built around 2009/2010 is handling games just fine, and it doesn't meet most minimum requirements. Core 2 Quad @ 3.8GHz, 8GBRAM, and Radeon HD6970 2GB (Ryse Son of Rome actually runs at 1080p and Shadow of Mordor also runs at 1080p - both looking equal to or better than than their console counterparts).

I just don't know if this will hit the PC. I know Ryse and Dead Rising 3 did (two Xbox One exclusives) - so who knows.

I've played about 8 hrs or so (~4 campaign/ ~4 multiplayer) and here are my pet peeves with it:

Pros:- Guns are cool and fun to use- Gameplay is fluid, being able to traverse the city without touching the ground is neat and fun- Humor is spot on- Explosions!- Character customization is neat (I'm not usually one who cares about that)

Cons"- Multiplayer feels added on, almost like it was an afterthought. The intermediate missions are fairly repetitive but the defense mission at the end is fun and enjoyable. If you're single player-ing it, no big deal. If you're friends have it, it sucks because you have to play the campaign to unlock items and there is no co-op campaign.- Once you get used to a gun, that's all you want to use. Some guns are better against certain enemies but for the most part, there's no real reason to use them, especially after you've leveled up your desired gun. Enemy difficulty doesn't seem to scale, so why waste time swapping to a different weapon to one-shot an enemy when two shots of the one you are already using would do the trick?- Collectibles. If you've played Crackdown, you know how those orbs were like crack. These collectibles not so much. They aren't hard to get to, so finding them is more of a chore than a challenge.- Difficulty. Find a rail to grind high up and just keep pulling the trigger. Got enemies coming in two different directions? No problem, there's a rail connecting the two, so just keep reversing your direction and you'll have very few problems. I'd like to see this game force you to continuously pop back and forth between grinding, bouncing, warping to other places.- I don't feel this is a game you'll be playing by the end of November. I'm mainly trying to make sure I get my moneys worth out of it at this point.

Not a bad game IMO, but I'm just not seeing what all the reviews are raving about. I'd say this is 6-7/10 more than the 8s and 9s I've seen.

Maybe I'm expecting too much out of games these days, or others are expecting too little.